Legends Of The Gods 3

Legends Of The Gods 3

THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF HORUS, AND OTHER MAGICAL TEXTS. The magical and religious texts of the Egyptians of all periods contain spells intended to be used against serpents, scorpions, and noxious reptiles of all kinds, and their number, and the importance which was attached to them, suggest that Egypt must always have produced these pests in abundance, and that the Egyptians were always horribly afraid of them.  The text of Unas, which was written towards the close of the Vth Dynasty, contains many such spells, and in the Theban and Saite Books of the Dead several Chapters consist of nothing but spells and incantations, many of which are based on archaic texts, against crocodiles, serpents, and other deadly reptiles, and insects of all kinds.  All such creatures were regarded as incarnations of evil spirits, which attack the dead as well as the living, and therefore it was necessary for the well-being of the former that copies of spells against them should be written upon the walls of tombs, coffins, funerary amulets, etc.  The gods were just as open to the attacks of venomous reptiles as man, and Ra, himself, the king of the gods, nearly died from the poison of a snake-bite.  Now the gods were, as a rule, able to defend themselves against the attacks of Set and his fiends, and the poisonous snakes and insects which were their emissaries, by virtue of the fluid of life, which was the peculiar attribute of divinity, and the efforts of Egyptians were directed to the acquisition of a portion of this magical power, which would protect their souls and bodies and their houses and cattle, and other property, each day and each night throughout the year.  When a man cared for the protection of himself only he wore an amulet of some kind, in which the fluid of life was localized. When he wished to protect his house against invasion by venomous reptiles he placed statues containing the fluid of life in niches in the walls of various chambers, or in some place outside but near the house, or buried them in the earth with their faces turned in the direction from which he expected the attack to come. PLATE XVII. The Metternich Stele--Obverse. PLATE XVIII. The Metternich Stele--Reverse. Towards the close of the XXVIth Dynasty, when superstition in its most exaggerated form was general in Egypt, it became the custom to make house talismans in the form of small stone stelae, with rounded tops, which rested on bases having convex fronts.  On the front of such a talisman was sculptured in relief a figure of Horus the Child (Harpokrates), standing on two crocodiles, holding in his hands figures of serpents, scorpions, a lion, and a horned animal, each of these being a symbol of an emissary or ally of Set, the god of Evil.  Above his head was the head of Bes, and on each side of him were: solar symbols, i.e., the lily of Nefer-Tem, figures of Ra and Harmakhis, the Eyes of Ra (the Sun and Moon), etc.  The reverse of the stele and the whole of the base were covered with magical texts and spells, and when a talisman of this kind was placed in a house, it was supposed to be directly under the protection of Horus and his companion gods, who had vanquished all the hosts of darkness and all the powers of physical and moral evil.  Many examples of this talisman are to be seen in the great Museums of Europe, and there are several fine specimens in the Third Egyptian Room in the British Museum.  They are usually called "Cippi of Horus."  The largest and most important of all these "cippi" is that which is commonly known as the "Metternich Stele," because it was given to Prince Metternich by Muhammad `Ali Pasha; it was dug up in 1828 during the building of a cistern in a Franciscan Monastery in Alexandria, and was first published, with a translation of a large part of the text, by Professor Golenischeff.[FN#48]   The importance of the stele is enhanced by the fact that it mentions the name of the king in whose reign it was made, viz., Nectanebus I., who reigned from B.C. 378 to B.C. 360. [FN#48]  See Metternichstele, Leipzig, 1877.  The Stele was made for Ankh-Psemthek, son of the lady Tent-Het-nub, prophet of Nebun, overseer of Temt and scribe of Het (see line 87). The obverse, reverse, and two sides of the Metternich Stele have cut upon them nearly three hundred figures of gods and celestial beings. These include figures of the great gods of heaven, earth, and the Other World, figures of the gods of the planets and the Dekans, figures of the gods of the days of the week, of the weeks, and months, and seasons of the year, and of the year.  Besides these there are a number of figures of local forms of the gods which it is difficult to identify. On the rounded portion of the obverse the place of honour is held by the solar disk, in which is seen a figure of Khnemu with four ram's heads, which rests between a pair of arms, and is supported on a lake of celestial water; on each side of it are four of the spirits of the dawn, and on the right stands the symbol of the rising sun, Nefer-Temu, and on the left stands Thoth.  Below this are five rows of small figures of gods.  Below these is Harpokrates in relief, in the attitude already described.  He stands on two crocodiles under a kind of canopy, the sides of which are supported by Thoth and Isis, and holds Typhonic animals and reptiles.  Above the canopy are the two Eyes of Ra, each having a pair of human arms and hands.  On the right of Harpokrates are Seker and Horus, and on his left the symbol of Nefer-Temu.  On the left and right are the goddesses Nekhebet and Uatchet, who guard the South of Egypt and the North respectively.  On the reverse and sides are numerous small figures of gods.  This stele represented the power to protect man possessed by all the divine beings in the universe, and, however it was placed, it formed an impassable barrier to every spirit of evil and to every venomous reptile.  The spells, which are cut in hieroglyphics on all the parts of the stele not occupied by figures of gods, were of the most potent character, for they contained the actual words by which the gods vanquished the powers of darkness and evil. These spells form the texts which are printed on p. 142 ff., and may be thus summarized:-- The first spell is an incantation directed against reptiles and noxious creatures in general.  The chief of these was Apep, the great enemy of Ra, who took the form of a huge serpent that "resembled the intestines," and the spell doomed him to decapitation, and burning and backing in pieces.  These things would be effected by Serqet, the Scorpion-goddess.  The second part of the spell was directed against the poison of Apep, and was to be recited over anyone who was bitten by a snake.  When uttered by Horus it made Apep to vomit, and when used by a magician properly qualified would make the bitten person to vomit, and so free his body from the poison. The next spell is directed to be said to the Cat, i.e., a symbol of the daughter of Ra, or Isis, who had the head of Ra, the eyes of the uraeus, the nose of Thoth, the ears of Neb-er-tcher, the mouth of Tem, the neck of Neheb-ka, the breast of Thoth, the heart of Ra, the hands of the gods, the belly of Osiris, the thighs of Menthu, the legs of Khensu, the feet of Amen-Horus, the haunches of Horus, the soles of the feet of Ra, and the bowels of Meh-urit.  Every member of the Cat contained a god or goddess, and she was able to destroy the poison of any serpent, or scorpion, or reptile, which might be injected into her body.  The spell opens with an address to Ra, who is entreated to come to his daughter, who has been stung by a scorpion on a lonely road, and to cause the poison to leave her body.  Thus it seems as if Isis, the great magician, was at some time stung by a scorpion. The next section is very difficult to understand.  Ra-Harmakhis is called upon to come to his daughter, and Shu to his wife, and Isis to her sister, who has been poisoned.  Then the Aged One, i.e., Ra, is asked to let Thoth turn back Neha-her, or Set.  "Osiris is in the water, but Horus is with him, and the Great Beetle overshadows him," and every evil spirit which dwells in the water is adjured to allow Horus to proceed to Osiris.  Ra, Sekhet, Thoth, and Heka, this last- named being the spell personified, are the four great gods who protect Osiris, and who will blind and choke his enemies, and cut out their tongues.  The cry of the Cat is again referred to, and Ra is asked if he does not remember the cry which came from the bank of Netit.  The allusion here is to the cries which Isis uttered when she arrived at Netit near Abydos, and found lying there the dead body of her husband. At this point on the Stele the spells are interrupted by a long narrative put into the mouth of Isis, which supplies us with some account of the troubles that she suffered, and describes the death of Horus through the sting of a scorpion.  Isis, it seems, was shut up in some dwelling by Set after he murdered Osiris, probably with the intention of forcing her to marry him, and so assist him to legalize his seizure of the kingdom.  Isis, as we have already seen, had been made pregnant by her husband after his death, and Thoth now appeared to her, and advised her to hide herself with her unborn child, and to bring him forth in secret, and he promised her that her son should succeed in due course to his father's throne.  With the help of Thoth she escaped from her captivity, and went forth accompanied by the Seven Scorpion-goddesses, who brought her to the town of Per-Sui, on the edge of the Reed Swamps.  She applied to a woman for a night's shelter, but the woman shut her door in her face.  To punish her one of the Scorpion-goddesses forced her way into the woman's house, and stung her child to death.  The grief of the woman was so bitter and sympathy- compelling that Isis laid her hands on the child, and, having uttered one of her most potent spells over him, the poison of the scorpion ran out of his body, and the child came to life again.  The words of the spell are cut on the Stele, and they were treasured by the Egyptians as an infallible remedy for scorpion stings.  When the woman saw that her son had been brought back to life by Isis, she was filled with joy and gratitude, and, as a mark of her repentance, she brought large quantities of things from her house as gifts for Isis, and they were so many that they filled the house of the kind, but poor, woman who had given Isis shelter. Now soon after Isis had restored to life the son of the woman who had shown churlishness to her, a terrible calamity fell upon her, for her beloved son Horus was stung by a scorpion and died.  The news of this event was conveyed to her by the gods, who cried out to her to come to see her son Horus, whom the terrible scorpion Uhat had killed.  Isis, stabbed with pain at the news, as if a knife had been driven into her body, ran out distraught with grief.  It seems that she had gone to perform a religious ceremony in honour of Osiris in a temple near Hetep-hemt, leaving her child carefully concealed in Sekhet-An.  During her absence the scorpion Uhat, which had been sent by Set, forced its way into the biding-place of Horus, and there stung him to death.  When Isis came and found the dead body, she burst forth in lamentations, the sound of which brought all the people from the neighbouring districts to her side.  As she related to them the history of her sufferings they endeavoured to console her, and when they found this to be impossible they lifted up their voices and wept with her.  Then Isis placed her nose in the mouth of Horus so that she might discover if he still breathed, but there was no breath in his throat; and when she examined the wound in his body made by the fiend Aun-Ab she saw in it traces of poison.  No doubt about his death then remained in her mind, and clasping him in her arms she lifted him up, and in her transports of grief leaped about like fish when they are laid on red-hot coals.  Then she uttered a series of heartbreaking laments, each of which begins with the words "Horus is bitten."  The heir of heaven, the son of Un- Nefer, the child of the gods, he who was wholly fair, is bitten!  He for whose wants I provided, he who was to avenge his father, is bitten! He for whom I cared and suffered when he was being fashioned in my womb, is bitten!  He whom I tended so that I might gaze upon him, is bitten!  He whose life I prayed for is bitten!  Calamity hath overtaken the child, and he hath perished. Whilst Isis was saying these and many similar words, her sister Nephthys, who had been weeping bitterly for her nephew Horus as she wandered about among the swamps, came, in company with the Scorpion- goddess Serqet, and advised Isis to pray to heaven for help.  Pray that the sailors in the Boat of Ra may cease from rowing, for the Boat cannot travel onwards whilst Horus lies dead.  Then Isis cried out to heaven, and her voice reached the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Disk ceased to move onward, and came to a standstill.  From the Boat Thoth descended, being equipped with words of power and spells of all kinds, and bearing with him the "great command of maa-kheru," i.e., the WORD, whose commands were performed, instantly and completely, by every god, spirit, fiend, human being and by every thing, animate and inanimate, in heaven, earth, and the Other World.  Then he came to Isis and told her that no harm could possibly have happened to Horus, for he was under the protection of the Boat of Ra; but his words failed to comfort Isis, and though she acknowledged the greatness of his designs, she complained that they savoured of delay.  "What is the good," she asks, "of all thy spells, and incantations, and magical formulae, and the great command of maa-kheru, if Horus is to perish by the poison of a scorpion, and to lie here in the arms of Death?  Evil, evil is his destiny, for it hath entailed the deepest misery for him and death." In answer to these words Thoth, turning to Isis and Nephthys, bade them to fear not, and to have no anxiety about Horus, "For," said he, "I have come from heaven to heal the child for his mother."  He then pointed out that Horus was under protection as the Dweller in his Disk (Aten), the Great Dwarf, the Mighty Ram, the Great Hawk, the Holy Beetle, the Hidden Body, the Divine Bennu, etc., and proceeded to utter the great spell which restored Horus to life.  By his words of power Thoth transferred the fluid of life of Ra, and as soon as this came upon the child's body the poison of the scorpion flowed out of him, and he once more breathed and lived.  When this was done Thoth returned to the Boat of Ra, the gods who formed its crew resumed their rowing, and the Disk passed on its way to make its daily journey across the sky. The gods in heaven, who were amazed and uttered cries of terror when they heard of the death of Horus, were made happy once more, and sang songs of joy over his recovery.  The happiness of Isis in her child's restoration to life was very great, for she could again hope that he would avenge his father's murder, and occupy his throne.  The final words of Thoth comforted her greatly, for he told her that he would take charge of the case of Horus in the Judgment Hall of Anu, wherein Osiris had been judged, and that as his advocate he would make any accusations which might be brought against Horus to recoil on him that brought them.  Furthermore, he would give Horus power to repulse any attacks which might be made upon him by beings in the heights above, or fiends in the depths below, and would ensure his succession to the Throne of the Two Lands, i.e., Egypt.  Thoth also promised Isis that Ra himself should act as the advocate of Horus, even as he had done for his father Osiris.  He was also careful to allude to the share which Isis had taken in the restoration of Horus to life, saying, "It is the words of power of his mother which have lifted up his face, and they shall enable him to journey wheresoever he pleaseth, and to put fear into the powers above.  I myself hasten [to obey them]."  Thus everything turned on the power of the spells of Isis, who made the sun to stand still, and caused the dead to be raised. Such are the contents of the texts on the famous Metternich Stele. There appears to be some confusion in their arrangement, and some of them clearly are misplaced, and, in places, the text is manifestly corrupt.  It is impossible to explain several passages, for we do not understand all the details of the system of magic which they represent. Still, the general meaning of the texts on the Stele is quite clear, and they record a legend of Isis and Horus which is not found so fully described on any other monument. IX. THE HISTORY OF ISIS AND OSIRIS. The history of Isis and Osiris given on pp. 248 is taken from the famous treatise of Plutarch entitled De Iside et Osiride, and forms a fitting conclusion to this volume of Legends of the Gods.  It contains all the essential facts given in Plutarch's work, and the only things omitted are his derivations and mythological speculations, which are really unimportant for the Egyptologist.  Egyptian literature is full of allusions to events which took place in the life of Osiris, and to his persecution, murder, and resurrection, and numerous texts of all periods describe the love and devotion of his sister and wife Isis, and the filial piety of Horus.  Nowhere, however, have we in Egyptian a connected account of the causes which led to the murder by Set of Osiris, or of the subsequent events which resulted in his becoming the king of heaven and judge of the dead.  However carefully we piece together the fragments of information which we can extract from native Egyptian literature, there still remains a series of gaps which can only be filled by guesswork.  Plutarch, as a learned man and a student of comparative religion and mythology was most anxious to understand the history of Isis and Osiris, which Greek and Roman scholars talked about freely, and which none of them comprehended, and he made enquiries of priests and others, and examined critically such information as he could obtain, believing and hoping that he would penetrate the mystery in which these gods were wrapped.  As a result of his labours he collected a number of facts about the form of the Legend of Isis and Osiris as it was known to the learned men of his day, but there is no evidence that he had the slightest knowledge of the details of the original African Legend of these gods as it was known to the Egyptians, say, under the VIth Dynasty.  Moreover, he never realized that the characteristics and attributes of both Isis and Osiris changed several times during the long history of Egypt, and that a thousand years before he lived the Egyptians themselves had forgotten what the original form of the legend was.  They preserved a number of ceremonies, and performed very carefully all the details of an ancient ritual at the annual commemoration festival of Osiris which was held in November and December, but the evidence of the texts makes it quite clear that the meaning and symbolism of nearly all the details were unknown alike to priests and people. An important modification of the cult of Isis and Osiris took place in the third century before Christ, when the Ptolemies began to consolidate their rule in Egypt.  A form of religion which would be acceptable both to Egyptians and Greeks had to be provided, and this was produced by modifying the characteristics of Osiris and calling him Sarapis, and identifying him with the Greek Pluto.  To Isis were added many of the attributes of the great Greek goddesses, and into her worship were introduced "mysteries" derived from non-Egyptian cults, which made it acceptable to the people everywhere.  Had a high priest of Osiris who lived at Abydos under the XVIIIth Dynasty witnessed the celebration of the great festival of Isis and Osiris in any large town in the first century before Christ, it is tolerably certain that he would have regarded it as a lengthy act of worship of strange gods, in which there appeared, here and there, ceremonies and phrases which reminded him of the ancient Abydos ritual.  When the form of the cult of Isis and Osiris introduced by the Ptolemies into Egypt extended to the great cities of Greece and Italy, still further modifications took place in it, and the characters of Isis and Osiris were still further changed.  By degrees Osiris came to be regarded as the god of death pure and simple, or as the personification of Death, and he ceased to be regarded as the great protecting ancestral spirit, and the all- powerful protecting Father of his people.  As the importance of Osiris declined that of Isis grew, and men came to regard her as the great Mother-goddess of the world.  The priests described from tradition the great facts of her life according to the Egyptian legends, how she had been a loving and devoted wife, how she had gone forth after her husband's murder by Set to seek for his body, how she had found it and brought it home, how she revivified it by her spells and had union with Osiris and conceived by him, and how in due course she brought forth her son, in pain and sorrow and loneliness in the Swamps of the Delta, and how she reared him and watched over him until he was old enough to fight and vanquish his father's murderer, and how at length she seated him in triumph on his father's throne.  These things endeared Isis to the people everywhere, and as she herself had not suffered death like Osiris, she came to be regarded as the eternal mother of life and of all living things.  She was the creatress of crops, she produced fruit, vegetables, plants of all kinds and trees, she made cattle prolific, she brought men and women together and gave them offspring, she was the authoress of all love, virtue, goodness and happiness.  She made the light to shine, she was the spirit of the Dog-star which heralded the Nile-flood, she was the source of the power in the beneficent light of the moon; and finally she took the dead to her bosom and gave them peace, and introduced them to a life of immortality and happiness similar to that which she had bestowed upon Osiris. The message of the cult of Isis as preached by her priests was one of hope and happiness, and coming to the Greeks and Romans, as it did, at a time when men were weary of their national cults, and when the speculations of the philosophers carried no weight with the general public, the people everywhere welcomed it with the greatest enthusiasm. From Egypt it was carried to the Islands of Greece and to the mainland, to Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, and then crossing the western end of the Mediterranean it entered North Africa, and with Carthage as a centre spread east and west along the coast.  Wherever the cult of Isis came men accepted it as something which supplied what they thought to be lacking in their native cults; rich and poor, gentle and simple, all welcomed it, and the philosopher as well as the ignorant man rejoiced in the hope of a future life which it gave to them.  Its Egyptian origin caused it to be regarded with the profoundest interest, and its priests were most careful to make the temples of Isis quite different from those of the national gods, and to decorate them with obelisks, sphinxes, shrines, altars, etc., which were either imported from temples in Egypt, or were copied from Egyptian originals.  In the temples of Isis services were held at daybreak and in the early afternoon daily, and everywhere these were attended by crowds of people.  The holy water used in the libations and for sprinkling the people was Nile water, specially imported from Egypt, and to the votaries of the goddess it symbolized the seed of the god Osiris, which germinated and brought forth fruit through the spells of the goddess Isis.  The festivals and processions of Isis were everywhere most popular, and were enjoyed by learned and unlearned alike.  In fact, the Isis-play which was acted annually in November, and the festival of the blessing of the ship, which took place in the spring, were the most important festivals of the year.  Curiously enough, all the oldest gods and goddesses of Egypt passed into absolute oblivion, with the exception of Osiris (Sarapis), Isis, Anubis the physician, and Harpokrates, the child of Osiris and Isis, and these, from being the ancestral spirits of a comparatively obscure African tribe in early dynastic times, became for several hundreds of years the principal objects of worship of some of the most cultured and intellectual nations.  The treatise of Plutarch De Iside helps to explain how this came about, and for those who study the Egyptian Legend of Isis and Osiris the work has considerable importance. THE HISTORY OF CREATION--A. THE BOOK OF KNOWING THE EVOLUTIONS[FN#49] OF RA, AND OF OVERTHROWING APEP. [FN#49]  Kheperu.  The verb Kheper means "to make, to form, to produce, to become, and to roll;" kheperu here means "the things which come into being through the rollings of the ball of the god Kheper (the roller)," i.e., the Sun. [These are] the words which the god Neb-er-tcher spake after he had come into being:--"I am he who came into being in the form of the god Khepera, and I am the creator of that which came into being, that is to say, I am the creator of everything which came into being: now the things which I created, and which came forth out of my month after that I had come into being myself were exceedingly many.  The sky (or heaven) had not come into being, the earth did not exist, and the children of the earth[FN#50], and the creeping, things, had not been made at that time.  I myself raised them up from out of Nu[FN#51], from a state of helpless inertness.  I found no place whereon I could stand. I worked a charm[FN#52] upon my own heart (or, will), I laid the foundation [of things] by Maat,[FN#53] and I made everything which had form.  I was [then] one by myself, for I had not emitted from myself the god Shu, and I had not spit out from myself the goddess Tefnut; and there existed no other who could work with me.  I laid the foundations [of things] in my own heart, and there came into being multitudes of created things, which came into being from the created things which were born from the created things which arose from what they brought forth.  I had union with my closed hand, and I embraced my shadow as a wife, and I poured seed into my own mouth, and I sent forth from myself issue in the form of the gods Shu and Tefnut. Saith my father Nu:--My Eye was covered up behind them (i.e., Shu. and Tefnut), but after two hen periods had passed from the time when they departed from me, from being one god I became three gods, and I came into being in the earth. Then Shu and Tefnut rejoiced from out of the inert watery mass wherein they I were, and they brought to me my Eye (i.e., the Sun). Now after these things I gathered together my members, and I wept over them, and men and women sprang into being from the tears which came forth from my Eye.  And when my Eye came to me, and found that I had made another [Eye] in place where it was (i.e., the Moon), it was wroth with (or, raged at) me, whereupon I endowed it (i.e., the second Eye) with [some of] the splendour which I had made for the first [Eye], and I made it to occupy its place in my Face, and henceforth it ruled throughout all this earth." [FN#50]  i.e., serpents and snakes, or perhaps plants. [FN#51]  The primeval watery mass which was the source and origin of all beings and things. [FN#52]  i.e., he uttered a magical formula. [FN#53]  i.e., by exact and definite rules. "When there fell on them their moment[FN#54] through plant-like clouds, I restored what had been taken away from them, and I appeared from out of the plant-like clouds.  I created creeping things of every kind, and everything which came into being from them.  Shu and Tefnut brought forth [Seb and] Nut; and Seb and Nut brought forth Osiris, and Heru- khent-an-maati,[FN#55] and Set, and Isis, and Nephthys[FN#56] at one birth, one after the other, and they produced their multitudinous offspring in this earth." [FN#54]  i.e., the period of calamity wherein their light was veiled through plant-like clouds. [FN#55]  i.e., the Blind Horus. [FN#56]  i.e., these five gods were all born at one time. THE HISTORY OF CREATION--B. THE BOOK OF KNOWING THE EVOLUTIONS OF RA, AND OF OVERTHROWING APEP. [These are] the words of the god Neb-er-tcher, who said: "I am the creator of what hath come into being, and I myself came into being under the form of the god Khepera, and I came into being in primeval time.  I came into being in the form of Khepera, and I am the creator of what did come into being, that is to say, I formed myself out of the primeval matter, and I made and formed myself out of the substance which existed in primeval time.  My name is AUSARES (i.e., Osiris), who is the primeval matter of primeval matter.  I have done my will in everything in this earth.  I have spread myself abroad therein, and I have made strong my hand.  I was ONE by myself, for they (i.e., the gods) had not been brought forth, and I had emitted from myself neither Shu nor Tefnut.  I brought my own name[FN#57] into my mouth as a word of power, and I forthwith came into being under the form of things which are and under the form of Khepera.  I came into being from out of primeval matter, and from the beginning I appeared under the form of the multitudinous things which exist; nothing whatsoever existed at that time in this earth, and it was I who made whatsoever was made.  I was ONE: by myself, and there was no other being who worked with me in that place.  I made all the things under the forms of which I appeared then by means of the Soul-God which I raised into firmness at that time from out of Nu, from a state of inactivity.  I found no place whatsoever there whereon I could stand, I worked by the power of a spell by means of my heart, I laid a foundation [for things] before me, and whatsoever was made, I made.  I was ONE by myself, and I laid the foundation of things [by means of] my heart, and I made the other things which came into being, and the things of Khepera which were made were manifold, and their offspring came into existence from the things to which they gave birth.  I it was who emitted Shu, and I it was who emitted Tefnut, and from being the ONE, god (or, the only god) I became three gods; the two other gods who came into being on this earth sprang from me, and Shu and Tefnut rejoiced (or, were raised up) from out of Nu in which they were. Now behold, they brought my Eye to me after two hen periods since the time when they went forth from me. I gathered together my members which had appeared in my own body, and afterwards I had union with my hand, and my heart (or, will) came unto me from out of my hand, and the seed fell into my mouth, and I emitted from myself the gods Shu and Tefnut, and so from being the ONE god (or, the only, god) I became three gods; thus the two other gods who came into being on this earth sprang from me, and Shu and Tefnut rejoiced (or, were raised up) from out of Nu in which they were.  My father Nu saith:-- They covered up (or, concealed) my Eye with the plant-like clouds which were behind them (i.e., Shu and Tefnut) for very many hen periods. Plants and creeping things [sprang up] from the god REM, through the tears which I let fall.  I cried out to my Eye, and men and women came into existence.  Then I bestowed upon my Eye the uraeus of fire, and it was wroth with me when another Eye (i.e., the Moon) came and grew up in its place; its vigorous power fell on the plants, on the plants which I had placed there, and it set order among them, and it took up its place in my face, and it doth rule the whole earth.  Then Shu and Tefnut brought forth Osiris, and Heru-khenti-an-maa, and Set, and Isis, and Nephthys and behold, they have produced offspring, and have created multitudinous children in this earth, by means of the beings which came into existence from the creatures which they produced.  They invoke my name, and they overthrow their enemies, and they make words of power for the overthrowing of Apep, over whose hands and arms AKER keepeth ward.  His hands and arms shall not exist, his feet and leas shall not exist, and he is chained in one place whilst Ra inflicts upon him the blows which are decreed for him.  He is thrown upon his accursed back, his face is slit open by reason of the evil which he hath done, and he shall remain upon his accursed back." [FN#57]  i.e., I uttered my own name from my own mouth as a word of power. THE LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND. CHAPTER I. [Here is the story of Ra,] the god who was self-begotten and self- created, after he had assumed the sovereignty over men and women, and gods, and things, the ONE god.  Now men and women were speaking words of complaint, saying:--"Behold, his Majesty (Life, Strength, and Health to him!) hath grown old, and his bones have become like silver, and his members have turned into gold and his hair is like unto real lapis- lazuli."  His Majesty heard the words of complaint which men and women were uttering, and his Majesty (Life, Strength, and Health to him!) said unto those who were in his train:--"Cry out, and bring to me my Eye, and Shu, and Tefnut, and Seb, and Nut, and the father-gods, and the mother-gods who were with me, even when I was in Nu side by side with my god Nu.  Let there be brought along with my Eye his ministers, and let them be led to me hither secretly, so that men and women may not perceive them [coming] hither, and may not therefore take to flight with their hearts.  Come thou[FN#58] with them to the Great House, and let them declare their plans (or, arrangements) fully, for I will go from Nu into the place wherein I brought about my own existence, and let those gods be brought unto me there."  Now the gods were drawn up on each side of Ra, and they bowed down before his Majesty until their heads touched the ground, and the maker of men and women, the king of those who have knowledge, spake his words in the presence of the Father of the first-born gods. And the gods spake in the presence of his Majesty, saying:--"Speak unto us, for we are listening to them" (i.e., thy words).  Then Ra spake unto Nu, saying:--"O thou first-born god from whom I came into being, O ye gods of ancient time, my ancestors, take ye heed to what men and women [are doing]; for behold, those who were created by my Eye are uttering words of complaint against me. Tell me what ye would do in the matter, and consider this thing for me, and seek out [a plan] for me, for I will not slay them until I have heard what ye shall say to me concerning it." [FN#58]  The god here addressed appears to have been Nu. Then the Majesty of Nu, to son Ra, spake, saying:--"Thou art the god who art greater than he who made thee, thou art the sovereign of those who were created with thee, thy throne is set, and the fear of thee is great; let thine Eye go against those who have uttered blasphemies against thee."  And the Majesty of Ra, said:--"Behold, they have betaken themselves to flight into the mountain lands, for their hearts are afraid because of the words which they have uttered."  Then the gods spake in the presence of his Majesty, saying:--"Let thine Eye go forth and let it destroy for thee those who revile thee with words of evil, for there is no eye whatsoever that can go before it and resist thee and it when it journeyeth in the form of Hathor."  Thereupon this goddess went forth and slew the men and the women who were on the mountain (or, desert land).  And the Majesty of this god said, "Come, come in peace, O Hathor, for the work is accomplished."  Then this goddess said, "Thou hast made me to live, for when I gained the mastery over men and women it was sweet to my heart;" and the Majesty of Ra said, "I myself will be master over them as [their] king, and I will destroy them."  And it came to pass that Sekhet of the offerings waded about in the night season in their blood, beginning at Suten- henen.[FN#59]  Then the Majesty of Ra, spake [saying], "Cry out, and let there come to me swift and speedy messengers who shall be able to run like the wind . . . .;" and straightway messengers of this kind were brought unto him.  And the Majesty of this god spake [saying], "Let these messengers go to Abu,[FN#60] and bring unto me mandrakes in great numbers;" and [when] these mandrakes were brought unto him the Majesty of this god gave them to Sekhet, the goddess who dwelleth in Annu (Heliopolis) to crush.  And behold, when the maidservants were bruising the grain for [making] beer, these mandrakes were placed in the vessels which were to hold the beer, and some of the blood of the men and women [who had been slain].  Now they made seven thousand vessels of beer.  Now when the Majesty of Re, the King of the South and North, had come with the gods to look at the vessels of beer, and behold, the daylight had appeared after the slaughter of men and women by the goddess in their season as she sailed up the river, the Majesty of Ra said, "It is good, it is good, nevertheless I must protect men and women against her."  And Ra, said, "Let them take up the vases and carry them to the place where the men and women were slaughtered by her."  Then the Majesty of the King of the South and North in the three-fold beauty of the night caused to be poured out these vases of beer which make [men] to lie down (or, sleep), and the meadows of the Four Heavens[FN#61] were filled with beer (or, water) by reason of the Souls of the Majesty of this god.  And it came to pass that when this goddess arrived at the dawn of day, she found these [Heavens] flooded [with beer], and she was pleased thereat; and she drank [of the beer and blood], and her heart rejoiced, and she became drunk, and she gave no further attention to men and women.  Then said the Majesty of Ra to this goddess, "Come in peace, come in peace, O Amit,"[FN#62] and thereupon beautiful women came into being in the city of Amit (or, Amem).  And the Majesty of Ra spake [concerning] this goddess, [saying], "Let there be made for her vessels of the beer which produceth sleep at every holy time and season of the year, and they shall be in number according to the number of my hand-maidens;" and from that early time until now men have been wont to make on the occasions of the festival of Hathor vessels of the beer which make them to sleep in number according to the number of the handmaidens of Ra. And the Majesty of Ra spake unto this goddess, [saying], "I am smitten with the pain of the fire of sickness; whence cometh to me [this] pain?"  And the Majesty of Ra said, "I live, but my heart hath become exceedingly weary[FN#63] with existence with them (i.e., with men); I have slain [some of] them, but there is a remnant of worthless ones, for the destruction which I wrought among them was not as great as my power."  Then the gods who were in his following said unto him, "Be not overcome by thy inactivity, for thy might is in proportion to thy will."  And the Majesty of this god said unto the Majesty of Nu, "My members are weak for (or, as at) the first time; I will not permit this to come upon me a second time."  And the Majesty of the god Nu said, "O son Shu, be thou the Eye 'for thy father . . . . . and avenue (?) him, and 'thou goddess Nut, place him . . . . . ...  And the goddess Nut said, "How can this be then, O my father Nu? Hail," said Nut . . . . . to the god Nu, and the goddess straightway became [a cow], and she set the Majesty of Ra upon [her] back . . . . .  And when these things had been done, men and women saw the god Ra, upon the back [of the cow]. Then these men and women said, "Remain with us, and we will overthrow thine enemies who speak words of blasphemy [against thee.], and [destroy them]."  Then his Majesty [Ra] set out for the Great House, and [the gods who were in the train of Ra remained] with them (i.e., the men); during that time the earth was in darkness.  And when the earth became light [again] and the morning had dawned, the men came forth with their bows and their [weapons], and they set their arms in motion to shoot the enemies [of Ra].  Then said the Majesty of this god, "Your "transgressions of violence are placed behind you, for the slaughtering of the enemies is above the slaughter [of sacrifice];" thus came into being the slaughter [of sacrifice].  And the Majesty of this god said unto Nut, "I have placed myself upon my back in order to stretch myself out."  What then is the meaning of this?  It meaneth that he united (?) himself with Nut.  [Thus came into being] . . . . . Then said the Majesty of this god, "I am departing from them (i.e., from men), and he must come after me who would see me;" thus came into being . . . . .  Then the Majesty of this god looked forth from its interior, saying, "Gather together [men for me], and make ready for me an abode for multitudes;" thus came into being . . . . . . .  And his Majesty (life, health, and strength be to him!) said, "Let a great field (sekhet) be produced (hetep);" thereupon Sekhet-hetep came into being.  [And the god said], "I will gather herbs (aarat) therein;" thereupon Sekhet-aaru came into being.  [And the god said], "I will make it to contain as dwellers things (khet) like stars of all sorts;" thereupon the stars (akhekha) came into being.  Then the goddess Nut trembled because of the height. [FN#59]  Or, Henen-su, {hbw XaNeS}, i.e., Herakleopolis, Magna. [FN#60]  i.e., Elephantine, or Syene, a place better known by the Arabic name ASWAN. [FN#61]  i.e., the South, North, West, and East of the sky. [FN#62]  i.e., "the fair and gracious goddess." [FN#63]  Literally, "My heart hath stopped greatly." And the Majesty of Ra said, "I decree that supports be to bear [the goddess up];" thereupon the props of heaven (heh) came into being.  And the Majesty of Ra said, "O my son Shu, I pray thee to set thyself under [my] daughter Nut, and guard thou for me the supports (heh) of the millions (heh) which are there, and which live in darkness.  Take thou the goddess upon thy head, and act thou as nurse for her;" thereupon came into being [the custom] of a son nursing a daughter, and [the custom] of a father carrying a son upon his head.